Rescue efforts, especially helicopter sorties had to be suspended yesterday due to rain and overcast conditions in Kedarnath and Badrinath as well as Rishikesh—places famous for temples and popular with adventure tourists for its white-river rafting.

The Into Tibetan Bordet Force (ITBP) personnel also began constructing foot tracks to speed up evacuation work and air operations are being directed to inaccessible areas like Gaurikund and Harshil and other places which were not targeted earlier.

Lt Gen Anil Chait, Commander-in-Chief of the Army's Central Command, which is heading the rescue operation, said that this was "by far the worst tragedy" he had come across in his career.

According to Mr Chait, about 8,500 soldiers of the mountain division and medical corp were deployed in the rescue and evacuation efforts.

Those who survived the monsoon fury told tales of havoc and a quest for survival in the aftermath.

“Some were swept away, others died of altitude sickness and cold. We walked through the jungle, with nothing to eat for days, surviving on the biscuits dropped from the helicopters,” said Bhagiram Budhathoki of Salyan district, speaking to the BBC.